Mumbai Nightlife: The city may soon have all-night 'entertainment zones'

Mumbai will soon have spots where you can party all night long. In a recent report, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Monday, has asked authorities to set up zones where bars, pubs, eateries and entertainment hotspots can remain open all night.

These entertainment zones, that have been designated as ‘nightlife zones', will first come up in South Mumbai, namely, Veer Nariman Road, Ballard Pier and Horniman Circle, on a trial basis. After gauging the response they receive, these ‘zones' will be replicated in other parts of the city, reported The Indian Express. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis issued this directive during a meeting with the office-bearers of the Nariman point Association of India (NRAI) that had been pushing for this proposal. The lady who came initiated this plan, BJP's Member of Parliament Poonam Mahajan, was also present at the meeting.

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In an earlier session of the state legislature, the government had passed a bill stating that shops, malls, and commercial establishments can remain open round the clock, the state, however, is yet to formulate a rule for this bill's implementation.

During the meeting the Chief Minister directed government officials to expedite the process and asked the Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar to finalise the nightlife zone proposal and run them on a pilot basis. While restaurateurs wanted these zones to be rolled out across Mumbai, Fadnavis chose to run a pilot project first instead after the Mumbai Police chief raised concerns about issues pertaining to law and order.

The CM also directed officials to formulate policies to encourage setting up food trucks across the city, and said, "The food trucks would do well in business districts and tourism spots." He also added that it would benefit women self-help groups in Mumbai as well. Further , the NRAI delegation asked for a reduction in the number of permissions need to set up a hotel in the city, for which the CM said it was an ongoing reform and asked officials to streamline the process. Apart from that the recent crackdown on rooftop bars was also discussed for which the CM stated that these establishments were using their one day permit for functions and parties to commercially serve liquor, which had led to the excise department cracking down on them. He added that officials should consider the feasibility in framing an independent liquor permit policy for rooftop bars. Officials said that the Mumbai Muncipalty will also be looking into the much-delayed proposal to permit rooftop bars and restaurants across the city.